About ART21 Season 8: Art in the Twenty-First Century

Art in the Twenty-First Century provides unparalleled access to the most innovative artists of our time, revealing how artists engage the culture around them and how art allows viewers to see the world in new ways. For the first time in the show’s history, the episodes are not organized around an artistic theme. Instead the 16-featured artists are grouped by their unique and revealing relationships to the places where they live: Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Vancouver.

Read more about the show below.

Take a Closer Look at ART21 Season 8

More About the Season 8 Episodes

Episode 1: Chicago (Premiered Friday, September 16 at 9 p.m.)

Chicago is a city rooted in industry and towering architecture, and artists in Chicago are disrupting urban experience through experimentation.

Episode 2: Mexico City (Premiered Friday, September 16 at 10 p.m.)

Mexico City artists exit their homes and studios to use the growing megalopolis as their canvas. The artists present everyday materials as artworks, mine recognizable images for their poetic potential, and take their art to the streets.

Episode 3:Los Angeles ( Premiered Friday, September 23 at 9 p.m.)

While sprawling Los Angeles has world-class museums and art schools, artists working in the shadow of the entertainment industry are more “under the radar,” affording them the space and time to imagine.

Episode 4: Vancouver (Premiered Friday, September 23 at 10 p.m.)

In small and tightly-knit Vancouver, artists reframe the world through a series of sophisticated illusions. By recreating historical moments, staging photos of vernacular scenes, and crafting intricate sculptures that trick the eye, artists reveal how everyday images and moments from the past are not always what they seem.